According to the BBC, the head of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza told mediators from Egypt and Qatar that Hamas will not agree to the peace deal put forth by President Trump.
“Izz al-Din al-Haddad is thought to believe the plan was designed to finish Hamas, whether the group accepts it or not, and so is determined to fight on,” the BBC reported, adding that Hamas know that if they release the Israeli hostages, they will lose any leverage they have.
Hamas’ military wing “holds greater sway over proceedings given that it holds the 48 hostages remaining in Gaza, only 20 of whom are thought to be alive,” Arab News acknowledged.
According to Israel Behind the News:
Izz ad-Din al-Haddad, known as “Abu Saheeb,” a senior Hamas official and commander of the Gaza Brigade, held a secret meeting with his battalion commanders on October 6, hours before the surprise attack on Israel. He personally handed them a printed page bearing the logo of Hamas’ military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
“With faith in crushing victory, the leadership of the brigades has approved the start of the major military operation ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’,” Abu Saheeb declared at the top of the page. “Place your faith and trust in Allah, rely on Him and fight bravely, act with a clear conscience, and let the cries of ‘Allahu Akbar’ be the crowning glory.”
Israel’s Kan News reported of Izz al-Din al-Haddad that he led a guerrilla warfare strategy in northern Gaza. In the past, the head of the Palestinian affairs desk at Kan News reported that al-Haddad had been marked as the successor to Mohammed Deif.
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Deif, one of Israel’s most wanted terrorists for decades, was the architect of numerous terrorist attacks, including suicide bombings, kidnappings, and rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers. He was responsible for Hamas’ military planning, weapon development, and tunnel warfare. He was also a central figure in the October 7, 2023, massacre, which saw Hamas fighters breach into Israeli territory, killing and kidnapping civilians. He was killed in an Israeli airstrike in July 2024.